Jane Harman resigned from Congress February 28, 2011 to join the Woodrow Wilson Center as its first female Director, President and CEO.

Representing the aerospace center of California during nine terms in Congress, she served on all the major security committees: six years on Armed Services, eight years on Intelligence, and eight on Homeland Security. During her long public career, Harman has been recognized as a national expert at the nexus of security and public policy issues, and has received numerous awards for distinguished service.

She is a member of the Defense Policy Board, the State Department Foreign Policy Board, and the Homeland Security Advisory Committee. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Trilateral Commission and the Advisory Board of the Munich Security Conference.

Harman is a Trustee of the Aspen Institute and the University of Southern California. She is also a member of the Presidential Debates Commission.

A product of Los Angeles public schools, Harman is a magna cum laude graduate of Smith College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and Harvard Law School. Prior to serving in Congress, she was Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, Deputy Cabinet Secretary to President Jimmy Carter, Special Counsel to the Department of Defense, and in private law practice.

"Vladimir Putin doesn't know the Colin Powell rule -- if you break it you own it. And if he breaks up Crimea, he's going to own their pension liabilities, their tanked economy, at a time when the Russian economy is stretched," Harman said. more

Jane Harman was a panelist on "Fox News Sunday" with columnist George Will, Heritage Action for America CEO Michael Needham and Fox News political analyst Juan Williams to discuss Russia and the conflict in Ukraine, as well as the presidential budget. "There is a possibility that Putin's efforts could backfire here. We have to be adroit, we and the rest of the world that really cares about a Ukraine that has a modern, pluralist, technocrat government," Harman said.
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Jane Harman was a guest on "Real Time With Bill Maher" to discuss issues in American politics including the minimum wage, intelligence and surveillance, and terrorism. "We should win the argument with the kid trying to strap on the suicide vest. That's the right way to do it," Harman said. more

Jane Harman appeared on "Morning Joe" with Ian Brzezinski, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, to discuss the situation in Ukraine and Russia's role. "The Ukrainians, at least according to the scholars at the Wilson Center, want to determine their own future. They don't want us or the EU or Russia to tell them what to do. This is not going to be a top-down solution--it's going to be bottom-up," Harman said.
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By partnering with U.S. corporations, USAID and other development agencies can help developing countries innovate new technologies, leapfrog infrastructure investment, and create new markets and sustainable livelihoods. Using technology and innovation to change the lives of millions around the world, these partnerships may also help shape a different view of America as a global power: smart and capable, focused on success and results, not ideology. However, these partnerships can be a challenge to develop and sustain. How can Congress work with the private sector and development agencies to enable these partnerships for success? more

"American opponents of women's rights used to argue that "biology is destiny" and that therefore women's role in the world had to be limited to bearing and raising children. Women like my mother and me who wanted more than that felt like outsiders in the 1950s and 1960s –and in too many parts of the world this is still true," writes Jane Harman.

Traditionally, U.S. foreign aid has relied heavily on government funded initiatives. But new models built around public-private partnerships are providing hope for better results. A National Conversation discussion focused on this emerging activity and also included a keynote address from USAID Administrator, Rajiv Shah.

The Middle East continues to be a region in turmoil. From civil war in Syria to ongoing attempts to resolve disagreements over Iran’s nuclear program, there is no shortage of strategic challenges. Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s Minister of Intelligence, Strategic Affairs, and International Relations, discusses these and other issues with the Wilson Center’s Director, President, and CEO, Jane Harman, during this episode of REWIND.

"Vladimir Putin doesn't know the Colin Powell rule -- if you break it you own it. And if he breaks up Crimea, he's going to own their pension liabilities, their tanked economy, at a time when the Russian economy is stretched," Harman said.

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Please join the Wilson Center for a discussion with Ambassador Michael Froman, U.S. Trade Representative, about the “strategic logic of trade”: how U.S. trade policy is strengthening U.S. partners and allies; promoting broad-based, inclusive development; and setting guidelines for engaging with critical regions in flux.

The disappearance of 43 students after clashes with police in Iguala, Mexico has left Mexicans horrified and outraged, and has led to nationwide protests. Join us by phone for a discussion of these events, the response by the government and by society, and the impact on Mexico’s international image with two experts on the ground.

Thirteen years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States is unambiguously at war with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). But when did Congress declare this new war – if it is a new one? According to some members of Congress, the answer is “not yet.” According to the White House, the answer is “more than a decade ago.

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and the United States Department of Energy Office of Science, in partnership with the Wilson Center's Brazil Institute, held an all-day symposium on collaborative research projects led by scientists in the state of São Paulo, Brazil and in the U.S., targeting the discovery of new science about the Amazon.

The world’s major powers (the P5+1) and Iran have been negotiating since last January to convert an interim nuclear accord into a final agreement, and now face a November 24 deadline. As this critical date nears, please join us for this meeting to address the outcome of the negotiations—whether successful in yielding an agreement, extended to allow further negotiations, or at a point of breakdown. What are the implications for U.S. policy toward Iran moving forward, as well as for the broader global effort to forestall the proliferation of nuclear weapons? This event honors the late Michael Adler, distinguished journalist and Public Policy Scholar at the Wilson Center, whose illuminating work improved the quality of public discourse on this vital issue.

There is much riding on the early parliamentary elections in Ukraine on October 26. Ukrainians face an ongoing war despite the tenuous ceasefire in the Donbas region, and severe economic pressures. The desperate need for reform is still at the top of the agenda for Maidan activists who overthrew the Yanukovych regime in February, and for the international community which has pledged to support Ukraine financially through the difficult months ahead. How can the new Rada to be elected this Sunday make meaningful progress in the face of these daunting challenges?

The Predator was transformed in a shockingly short time from a flimsy remote-control airplane with a camera under its chin to the first killing device whose users could stalk and annihilate a targeted individual on the other side of the world from a position of utter invulnerability. Join us as author Richard Whittle and former National Security Council counter-terrorism senior adviser, Richard Clarke, discuss this controversial topic with the release of Whittle's new book: Predator: The Secret Origins of the Drone Revolution.

As the Obama Administration seeks to fashion a policy to counter ISIS, it confronts a complex situation on the ground, particularly in Syria. Three analysts and experts discuss the military/political landscape in Syria and the challenges it poses.

The Chicago Council releases its 40th anniversary survey of Americans thoughts on foreign policy issues. An expert panel discusses the results, what it means for the future of U.S. policy, and what policymakers should learn from the public.

Why did a small number of European statesmen take the world into the seminal catastrophe of the Great War? The German Chancellor Otto Bismarck had warned in 1880 that “some damned foolish thing in the Balkans” might lead to a terrible war. The shots at Sarajevo did just that a hundred years ago. What have we learned?

A panel of experts, including R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of Drug Control Policy at the White House, discusses reforming current policies combating illegal drugs in the United States and Latin America.